Comedy duo Reign and Maulana entertain revellers at Makerere University Business School during the CSN's second outing last weekend. PHOTO | MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Stand-up comedy often provides comics with a chance to sit at the table of entertainment royalty.
So you will see a stand-up comedian beginning a career on stage before branching out to explore other mediums such as television and movies.
Their plan is to transmute their onstage popularity to some onscreen appeal. We have seen comics like Kevin Hart, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy and several others parlay their stand-up material into well-regarded television shows, or Box Office movies.
This is because these stand-ups are essentially performers; they tell personal anecdotes about their own lives in which they play every part and act out each scene. So the transition to celluloid is seemingly effortless.
Plus, the financial returns to comic actors or sketch comedians who star in romantic or action comedies and situation comedies are rather immense. This is especially so when these pay cheques are compared with how much stand-up comedians earn for being on stage.
Chris Tucker made modest amounts of cash as a stand-up comedian before going into movies. That is when he co-starred in his first film, Friday. He says: “I got about $10,000 (about Shs36.5m) for it or whatever; I didn't care.”
After the commercial success of the first Rush Hour film, Tucker commanded a $20m (Shs73b) salary for Rush Hour 2, and was paid $25m (Shs91b) for Rush Hour 3. If the small screen (television shows) and silver screen (movies) are more lucrative than stand-up comedy, why haven’t Ugandan comedians transitioned to sitcoms and movies?
Not easy
“First of all, let us agree—comedy in Uganda is not for the faint-hearted. It is like being in a toxic relationship; you love it, but does it love you back? Now, the reason most Ugandan stand-up comedians or comedians in general don’t smoothly transition into TV and film is a complex cocktail of industry limitations, lack of structures, and—let’s be honest—budget constraints,” says Cotilda Inapo, a stand-up comedian.
She adds: “Hollywood has agencies, managers, and talent pipelines that push stand-up comedians into sitcoms, Netflix specials, and eventually Marvel movies where they get paid to make jokes in spandex.
Here? You’re your own manager, agent, producer, and sometimes even your own audience. Many of our great comics have talent, but where are the sitcom writers? The executive producers? The networks investing in long-term comedy content? We don’t lack talent. We lack a system that sustains that talent beyond a mic and a stage.”
Cotilda believes comedians can make it on television and movies, but there are some limitations.
“Ugandan audiences consume live comedy religiously—weddings, corporate gigs, nightclubs, even funerals (If you know You Know ). But when it comes to TV, there’s a short attention span for scripted comedy,” she says.
She adds: “Look at The Hostel—it started with fire but fizzled out because we don’t have a solid ecosystem for sitcom writing, production, and syndication. To give credit where it is due, our talent has really upped their writing skill but let’s be honest, TV stations here aren’t exactly throwing Hollywood budgets at comedy. Instead, they want a show where the comedian is also the writer, producer, editor, cameraman, and tea girl.”
She then proceeds to note: “Then, there’s the money problem. Comedy on TV needs sponsors, and Ugandan companies would rather sponsor a goat-racing tournament than a sitcom. The moment a sponsor pulls out, your show is finished. That’s why our most successful comedy thrives on YouTube—because at least the landlord there is just an algorithm, not a boardroom full of people asking, ‘But how will this help us sell more cement?’”
Uganda versus the US
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos), Uganda’s entertainment industry has been growing over the years. It now takes in about Shs141.5b annually, equivalent to 0.3 percent of the entire contribution of the services sector to Uganda’s GDP.
The US comedy industry estimated that ticket sales for comedy events generated approximately $2.5b in revenue in 2024. If you factor in movies and television, the comedy industry in America is worth more than $30b annually.
“Stand-up comedy in the US is more than 100 years old. It has evolved through variety shows where performers did everything—comedy, music, magic tricks, acrobatics, and even weird acts like a guy playing the violin while standing on a donkey (No, I didn’t make that up) to radio, TV, and now streaming platforms. America has the comedy club system—where comedians work their way up from tiny open mics to Netflix deals. Uganda? We don’t have that luxury,” says Cotilda.
“Here, stand-up comedy started properly in the mid-2000s, and it has been a sprint, not a marathon. No open mic culture, no dedicated comedy clubs—just brave souls fighting to get 10 minutes on a stage before a drunk guy in the audience yells, “vaayo!”
In the US, stand-up comedians get groomed into stardom. In Uganda, you tell your first joke at the National Theatre and by the second one, you’re already on a poster headlining Comedy Store. There’s no incubation period. It’s like planting maize today and expecting posho tomorrow. It is only in recent years that we have started open mic spaces to incubate good content.”
Where do we go from here?
“Simple: We need to own our industry. Right now, we are still guests in entertainment spaces. We rent TV slots, beg for sponsorships, and negotiate for gig payments like we are asking for school fees from a stingy uncle. Speaking of that, we now have a dedicated comedy club called the Laughing Marabou Stork opening up in March,” says Coltilda.
“That being said, we need: More comedy specials (because stand-up comedy is an art, not just a side dish at corporate dinners); comedy films and sitcoms (Imagine a Friends or Brooklyn Nine-Nine but with Ugandan problems—power blackouts mid-scene, neighbours knocking to borrow onions). A proper comedy industry, not just a scene (we need managers, publicists, and marketing budgets. I can’t be writing jokes and also be the one calling NTV to ask if they will air my special),” she adds.
